I have a great affinity for these exquisite animations. Constructed between 1768 and 1774 by Pierre Jaquet-Droz, his son Henri-Louis (1752-1791), and Jean-Frédéric Leschot (1746-1824)

The Writer was built in the 1770s using 6,000 moving parts by Pierre Jaquet-Droz, his son Henri-Louis, and Jean-Frédéric Leschot (Image borrowed from http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/11/the-writer-automata/)